How to Spend 2 Amazing Weeks in Nepal

Nepal is like that magical country that you weren’t sure if you would ever make it to but now you have and it’s really hard to contain the excitement when you are planning your Nepal trip.

 

View of the Annapurna Mountain range.

Just flying into Kathmandu is an experience in itself. I am a bit scared of flying and by a bit, I mean very scared. To add to my anxiety, an airplane had crashed at the Kathmandu airport the day before my trip so that kept me up all night. It is one of the most dangerous airports to land at and the weather and visibility play a huge roll. I would say expect your flight to be delayed.

Our flight wasn’t allowed to land at the ETA so the pilot had to do figure 8’s for a while but seeing those majestic snow-covered mountains peeking out from above the clouds made me forget I was ever on an airplane and made for an inspiring start for this trip. That was just the first amazing view that we had of Nepal.

This post doesn’t contain any tips on trekking since we were traveling for a long time with minimal luggage. I can say that there is an abundance of companies that set up trekking trips all around Nepal.

Beautiful shop in Thamel

Kathmandu: 3-4 Days

The hectic and dusty capital of Nepal is Kathmandu. This will be your first introduction into Nepalese culture. Get ready for it! That drive from the airport to your hotel will be chaotic,busy and full of surprises. You will have no idea where to look next.

In 2015, Kathmandu was struck with a large earthquake that killed thousands and ruined most structures around the city. They are slowly rebuilding after that horrible incident, so you will notice a lot of dust and crumbled buildings. That’s where the tourists dollars help to bring in income to the country.

Thamel is the tourist area where most budget hotels, tour companies, and souvenir shops are located. I enjoyed waking up early to see the town wake up and the natural lighting made it a great time to photograph. At night, it gets a little crazy but nowhere near Ko San Road in Bangkok.

I specifically didn’t think there was a whole lot to see and do here but the temples are interesting and just walking in any direction can take you to see some eccentric buildings. You could also use your time here to take day trips to Bhaktapur (Medieval Town and UNESCO site), Nagarkot for views of Mt. Everest if you’re lucky or  you could do the popular scenic flight around Mt. Everest that lasts about an hour.

Bouddhanath Stupa in Kathmandu

Kathmandu Tips:

You will get a lot of people, especially rickshaw drivers, asking if you want to buy hash. That’s up to you but technically it’s not legal.

Also, people coming up to you saying they don’t want your money just some milk seem innocent but they will take you to a specific shop where he has an agreement with the shop owner to sell the milk an exuberant price so that he can later resell it for a cut of the money made. You decide how you want to help people but I don’t like being scammed into it.

Best food: McDonald’s (not the chain) in north Thamel has the most amazing food and their prices are very economical. We probably came and had dinner pretty much every night. You must order the garlic naan…. Drooling now.
Beer is really expensive for such a cheap country.  Add a few extra dollars if you like to have a few cold ones at the end of the day.

Pokhara: 5-6 Days

How to get here:

You could fly if you really wanted to…. or take an 8-9 hour bus trip. The bus is cheap and they’re not too bad. I might have lied there…. Just kidding. Bring some music or something to pass the time. If you get motion sickness, when you book your bus ticket at the local tourist companies in Thamel make sure they give you a seat up front. Its better if they have a picture of the seats you bought because the bus drivers will say “those seat numbers are in the back, you can’t sit up front” so just stay put if those are the seats you bought. They do stop about 3 times for snacks and lunchtime and give you free water bottles.

Locals who made fun of us for being out of breath during our cycle and wanted pictures lol.

Pokhara was one of my favorite cities on our entire trip throughout Nepal and India. It can be perfect for the relaxed holiday goer or the adrenaline junkie looking for a thrill. The landscape is amazing, the vibes are great and if you’re into yoga and being vegan then you found your spot.

I recommend you stay near the lake as that is where most activities, views and restaurants can be found.

Renting a row-boat to cross the lake and see the World Peace Pagoda is a popular activity.  There’s also a nice waterfall in that area and some rooftop restaurants for epic views, or do what we did and have a picnic in the middle of the hike.  Paragliding is a big activity here, it was on our list to try but at the end we backed out. There’s also kayaking, white water rafting, trekking, etc.

My favorite activity was renting a bicycle early in the morning to get a closer look at the Annapurna Mountain range. Going early is your best bet because around lunch time the clouds start coming in and you won’t be able to see much. Stopping to catch your breath is recommended because of the glorious views you’ll have just from pulling over to the side for a few minutes. Keep your eyes on the road though! It’s hard with all the beauty surrounding you.

Chitwan: 3 Days

How to get here:

Again, small bus! Yayyy….. It’s going to be another 8-9 hours. They advertise it to only be about 6 hours but because of traffic and road conditions it’s never less than 8. The road conditions for this trip was really scary and a majority was stuck in traffic while being centimeters away from cliffs edge. They were paving the roads when I passed through so hopefully it’s a nice trip for your visit.

Now, its safari time! Who knew that is was possible to go safari in Nepal? Definitely not me but it was a wonderful surprise.

Baby rhino that was attacked by a tiger and is now in rehabilitation to be released back into the wild.

Once you get settled in to your hotel, look around for where you can book a safari tour. Your hotel might be able to offer some packages as well and their pretty much all the same. I didn’t notice a difference in price. I was a big baby about doing the walking safari so we only ended up doing the afternoon jeep safari. You could easily do both as the prices are very reasonable.

On our safari we saw a few monkeys, two sloth bears having a scuffle, wild boar, rhinos, deer, crocodiles, peacocks and a few more birds. The big animal to spot here is the elusive tiger, you’re very lucky if you spot one.

Other than the safari, you can walk along the river where you can spot crocodiles and rhinos bathing nearby. You could shop around for some souvenirs in town or for a great evening head to one of the little restaurants on the river for a beer and an epic sunset.

Chitwan Tips:

It takes ages to cook any meal! Head to the restaurants before you’re actually hangry and be prepared to wait. Everything is made from scratch, so even the simplest meal still took an hour. We brought playing cards with us so that we had something to do if we weren’t admiring the views.

After our time in Chitwan, we just crossed the border into India. If you’re headed back to Kathmandu, it’s back on one of those buses but know that you won’t have to do it again after you arrive.

Our two-week itinerary made for an amazing time in Nepal. We really loved the country, the people and surprisingly the food. Next time we would like to return to do some trekking and also head to another city called Mustang which is meant to be out of this world landscape.

I hope this helps with your travel plans in some way. Let me know what you enjoyed the most in Nepal!

GE